Year to Year
by Joey Taylor
Summary: Clanverse oneshot. Kaiba Corp is the biggest games company in the world and each year they get to present at the biggest games conference in the world and Kari get's to watch...right?


**Year 1:**

It was one year since she had started working in the VR Development department and it was that time again.

The time of year all gamers looked forward to, when the biggest games companies in the world got together for a week long conference to show off new tech and their biggest and boldest upcoming games. E3 had come around again and it was time for Kaiba Corp's conference.

This year was more exciting than any before because her own work would be part of the showcase.

Spirit Hearts, the new Virtual Reality game was the current baby of their department. It was also due to be released at the end of the summer and it was the shining star of the Kaiba Corp conference.

Kari Ironhide could not wait for the reaction to the reveal of the twin Princesses, Aria Dawn and Requiem Dusk and their palace. In fact she had the livestream up on her phone while she put the finishing touches on the golden amulet that was both a key plot point and the key that activated the palace's defences. A golden amulet that looked an awful lot like a disc version of her magical Orb, which had been a gift from her friend Robin, who lived back in England.

She was not the only one working that way either. Pretty much everyone had their phones sat next to their monitors. Some idiots had tried to complain to their manager that they wanted to watch it on their monitors, but everyone knew that most of Kaiba Corp was cut off from outside internet at most consoles in order to prevent leaks and hacks. They had been reminded of that fact and informed that if they were lucky enough to be on break when the conference, then they could watch it in the staff canteen on the big television.

Kari was not amongst those lucky enough but her manager was, thankfully, overlooking her having earbuds in whilst their CEO preforming on stage.

And what a performance it was. He had a presence that just commanded everyone's attention and part of Kari's mind noted that she was not the only person who had stopped working to watch the way he made the crowd follow his every move and hear the reactions to all the work they had put in over the past few months.

Nor was she was only one who let out a relieved noise when the crowd went wild for the new Intellectual Property, Spirit Hearts, as it was announced.

They had done their jobs, people were interested.

Now they just had to finish the game.

* * *

 **Year 2:**

"You sure you want me here?" Kari asked nervously as she was fitted for the microphone, Kaiba Corp's pre-show trailer playing loudly on the other side of the giant screen that seemed to easily been two or three storeys high, though she was certain it was mostly nerves.

"You're the new Head of VR Development and you're the last person to have touched this trailer since the hack." Kaiba snorted at her, having promoted her just a week ago after having to fire the last one for being a outside mole, "You're presenting it."

Kari winced at the bite in his voice. The hack had been an inside job by her former boss designed to lure Kaiba out into a trap that would steal the souls of every Duellist inside it. Between Yami Mutou, the recently revealed older twin of Yugi Mutou who was secretly the Spirit of the Puzzle in a body somehow created by magic, and the CEO of Kaiba Corp himself, the attempt had failed, but it had successfully crashed the entire Kaiba Corp mainframe until Kari had managed to get it back up and running using the backups she had been saving to the N.O.A.H. System that most of the other managers in the company had been, somehow, unaware of.

The Network Online Access Hub had made it possible to bring the system up from what had potentially been a potentially company ending crisis in a matter of a couple of days, but between their first year at Hogwarts and the crash there had been little to no time before the E3 conference to make any adjustments to the trailers and gameplay footage. As such Kaiba had dragged her, along with the Head of 3D Design to give presentations they had had to come up with, get okayed and practice until they had it perfect, in less than a week.

To say Kari was nervous was an understatement.

"Two minutes to show, Mr Kaiba." One of the technicians called over to the group, making the Head of 3D design, Giro Hanada, make a squeak that under normal circumstances Kari would have found hysterical. Today however, she was far too close to making a similar noise to be able to comment, especially after she had made the mistake of looking out over the crowd and suddenly realising there was easily two hundred people in the hall, not to mention the Gods only knew how many tv and livestream cameras.

Her hand went to the golden orb she wore as a pendant and a pulse of reassurance and care flooded her mind.

 _'You'll be fine, Kari.'_ The voice of her dark self, the spirit of the Orb, Ombre, tried to boost her confidence as her boss prepared to step out onto the stage.

"Live in five." The stage technician called.

 _'I better be or I'm going to get fired.'_ Despite the waver in her voice, hearing her 'sister's' mental voice did help because it reminded her that even though her boss had complained about the extra space taken up by her sister on the plane and in the suite of apartments they had at the nearby hotel, Ombre was still here, in the crowd, close enough that if she screwed up, she could go to her and feel safe.

 _'You won't screw up.'_ Ombre was firm as Seto stepped into the light to the sound of the crowd roaring, _'This is nothing more than one more international duel and the crowd is your opponent. Show it the same lack of fear you showed those jerks who kidnapped Yugi and tried to kill us last week.'_

Ombre was right, she could do this. This crowd was only as big as the ones in Kaiba Corp Stadium back in Domino and the international coverage was just the same as time she had been in duels against Kaiba or the Yugi's.

"Live in ten, Miss Ironhide." One of the techs informed her as he turned on her microphone and showed her how to turn it back off.

She nodded and moved into position, waiting for her cue as the first trailer ended and the KC logo flashed on the screen.

"Introducing the Head of Virtual Reality Development, Kari Ironhide."

She took a deep breath and stepped into the lights.

Show time.

* * *

 **Year 3:**

While she missed her friends and her boyfriend, Joey, she was mostly ecstatic to be here again, getting to see all the conferences first hand and see everything on the show floor before any press release.

Of courses there were downsides too.

"Ironhide!"

"Roberts! Hi!" Kari put on a smile as she waved at one of the EA speakers who was weaving his way through the crowd to reach her and Ombre, "You coming to the KC Conference later?"

"Of course." He grinned back at her as he reached their side, "Gotta say I'm surprised to see you here again. Not that you did badly last year but..."

Kari grimaced slightly. Her voice had wavered slightly to start with but she had given an impassioned speech that had had the crowd enthralled. She would not actually have been here this year at all though if it had not been for the Anubis incident. Seto was still recovering from that and while the CEO would have been completely capable of presenting the whole showcase on his own Mokuba had written the E3 conference and had insisted that she had to be the one to announce the new expansion to Spirit Hearts, the last one in fact before the next game released.

She was almost certain that Mokuba had only sent her along in order to make sure Seto didn't kill himself overworking. After the school year they had had, with the basilisk, she was not surprised.

Of course she had her own problems to worry about. Her period was late, not that she dared bring that up to her co-workers or any of her friends. Not yet. Not even Joey could be allowed to know that she could possibly be pregnant. Even if it was with his child. Besides it did not matter right now, other than it meant she would not be on while she was on stage so she would not have to worry about ruining her white suit.

"Mr Kaiba thinks I did a good enough job to be here again." She informed Roberts, putting on all the haughty airs she used to deal with such business men as Seigfried von Stroder, "And just you wait, I'm going to kick butt on stage."

"I look forward to it."

* * *

 **Year 4:**

"Live in 4 minutes Miss Kaiba."

"Ironhide. It's Miss Ironhide." Kari corrected the new technician who was setting up her microphone. "I'm not a Kaiba. I just work for them."

"No Kaiba this year?" One of the regular techs asked as the pre-show trailers played.

Kari had to take a deep breath before she answered. No. There was no Seto Kaiba this year. No Mokuba Kaiba...not even an Ombre Ironhide to have her back.

They were all missing, possibly dead, but she could not go looking for them. She had to keep the company ticking. She had to be at E3 to showcase the new games and to keep the interest high, the money rolling and the company stocks afloat.

Her friends were missing, Yugi was on the other side of the country, lying soulless in a hospital bed but there was nothing she could do, because if someone did not try to keep running Kaiba Corp while Seto and Mokuba were missing, the company would collapse.

As it was she was only managing to keep it alive through the help of Noah Kaiba, who as far as the public were aware, was in a safe location getting medical treatment for a long term aliment. Of course Kari knew better. She knew that the N.O.A.H. System she had been relying on for so many years was in fact the home for the mental data of Gozaboro Kaiba's birth son, but she had no choice but to get his help.

Only a Kaiba could sign off on certain documentation.

As hard as she was trying to run the company, she could not do it alone.

"Live in two minutes."

She was tired. Beyond tired. She could not remember the last time she had slept, or ate or just taken a moment to rest. It was likely the end of the school year had been the last time, after Sirius had been saved from dementors and they had handed Pettigrew to the authorities. She was probably running off of magic alone at this point. She was not truly in any fit state to present at this conference, but she could not, would not, let her boss...her FRIEND, down.

"Live in 10, 9, 8, 7..."

She took a deep breath. Ready or fit or not, the time had come.

"3, 2, 1..."

As the Kaiba Corp logo flashed up on screen she walked out onto the stage and tried not to feel like she was an impostor.

* * *

 **Year 5:**

"Ironhide, make sure you..."

Seto trailed off as he beheld the empty space where Kari normally stood, waiting for final instructions before the conference.

"Are you alright, Seto?" Mokuba asked quietly, his tone sad.

"I'm fine, Mokie." He lied, trying not to feel like part of him was missing. Like he was missing his right hand. Like it had been ripped away from him.

"I miss her too." Mokuba's admission startled his brother, who pulled him into a hug. "I wish..."

His little brother trailed off but Seto knew what he wished. It was the same wish he had. That Kari had not gone into the final stage of the Triwizard Tournament. That she had bowed out or not done as well as she had and that she had not been with Harry at the centre of the maze.

That she had not been killed by Voldemort and his men.

"You alright to present, Mokie?" Seto asked softly, "I can give the entire show on my own, the way I used to."

"N...no. Don't. I can...If I don't, I'll be letting her down." Mokuba shook his head and pulled away, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "She gave everything for us and Kaiba Corp, I can't not take the stage now...if she could manage last year, I can do it now."

"I'm proud of you." The compliment made his brother smile slightly, which helped Seto's own mood. "And she would be too."

"She'd be proud of you too." Mokuba hugged him again.

"Two minutes, Mr Kaiba." A technician interrupted quietly, causing the two brothers to pull apart.

"Alright, Mokie. Show time."

* * *

 _ **Author Note: A few odd little clanverse drabbles based of the fact it's E3 and that Kaiba Corp would totally be involved in that world's version of it. Year 1 is set a year after Beginnings but before Philosopher's Stone, after the one shot I deleted many years ago that explained where Kari got her Orb from. The rest should be self explanatory.**_


End file.
